2,2 TENSE, MOOD AND ASPECT
Tense, mood and aspect are important categories in any language, yet
they provide a very complex area for analysis. Kriol is no exception
to this as many morphemes cannot be defined in terms of any one of the
three systems. For example, tense and aspect is combined in some, wh i I
others indicate both mood and tense. For purposes of this sketch I wi I
divide the mcrphemes according to their more obvious meaning.
2.2.1 TENSE
Events can be described in Kriol in relation to the time of speaking.
If it is desired to specify that an event took place before the moment
of speaking, the verba! auxiliary bin is used before the verb with no
change in the verb form.
(2-1) Al bin go Debi
1 :SG:S PST go Derby
' I went to Derby. '
In some verbless clauses bin can be used.
(2-2) Mela bin anggri
1 :PL:EX PST hungry
'We were hungry . ' i
Where past habitual or customary events are being described, bin is i
not obligatory with every verb but can be omitted after the first verb
or first paragraph when the time orientation has been established.
(2-3) Longtaim wen ai bin lidil, ai siyim sneik, ai
long:time when 1:SG:S PST little 1:SG:S see snake 1:SG:S
gedam ston, en ai tjakam langa det sneik
get stone and 1 :5G:S throw LOG that snake
'A long time ago, when I was a child, if I saw a snake, 1 used
to get a stone and throw it at the snake.'
A more specific auxiliary yusda is available for placing habitual event^
in the past (i.e. they are no longer performed). Bin is not usual with
yusda, though the two can co-occur,
( 2 -4 ) Dei yusda pi ei -ba t la haste 1
5:PL used:to play-lTER LOG hostel
'They used to be playing at the hostel.'
28
Habitual action can be specified by the use of one of the following
adverbs: orlataim, orlas and ebritaim,
(2-5) Ai bin gow-in skul orlataim. Afdatharran ai orlas
1:SG:S PST go-PROG school always after: that 1:SG:S always
kambek en abam dina en go plei-bat garra orla kid.
come: back and eat dinner and go pi ay- ITER ASSOC PL child
M used to go to school every day. After school I would come
back and have dinner then go and play with the children.'
In the negative construction, where neba negates the verb, the past
tense bin does not normally occur.
(2-6) Mipala neba gedam shuga
1 :PL:EX NEG get sugar
'We didn't get sugar.'
An aspect of completion is included in the meaning of bin but this is
not easily distinguished from past time. It is with the negative that
this completive meaning can be seen. In the next example the time
reference is past and the first car is said to have not broken down
during the whole time of ownership. Contrasting to that, another car
is said to have not broken down for a period, which is now completed,
and the current situation is described in positive terms. The bin is
obligatory with the second negative but not allowed with the first.
(2-7) Wi bin abam det motika fa longtaim en i neba
we PST have that car PURP long:time and 3:SG:S NEG
breikdan det najawan motika wi bin abam fo longtaim en
breakdown that other car we PST have PURP long:time and
i neba bin breikdan bat tudei i orlas breikdan
3:SG:S NEG PST breakdown but now 3:SG:S always breakdown
'We had one car for a long time and it never broke down. We
had another car for a long time and it didn't break down for
some time but now it always breaks down.'
Two morphemes place an event after the moment of speaking. They are
garra and -1 and both are glossed 'potential' (POT). The first, garra,
is an auxiliary with a combined tense-mood meaning of probable, po-
tential or future action often with an implied obligation. Situations
which have not happened at the time of speaking but which are envisioned
by the speaker as very likely to happen are marked by garra.
2Q
(2-8) Al garra kukum dempa
1 :SG:S POT cook damper
M will cook the damper.'
in discourse, garra is used when describing a procedure such as when
telling someone how to play a game.
(2-9) Fes yu garra putum detlat faih ting la yu finga ...
first 2:SG POT put those five thing LOG 2:SG hand
'First you put those five things in your hand ,..'
The probability implied in garra is clearest in a warning,
(2-10) Yu garra foldan
2:SG POT fal I
'You're sure to fai I . '
Compare this with a less emphatic warning,
(2-11) Yu malt foldan
2:SG might fal I
'You might fal I . '
The second morpheme of future time -i is restricted to use with the
first person subject pronouns and is suffixed to the pronoun, producing
two forms al and wil no doubt from English 'I'll' and 'We'll'. Its
meaning is that the action is probable and likely to take place in the
immediate future,
(2-12) If yu showum mi hospil , a-1 gihim yu mani
if 2:SG show 1:SG:0 hospital 1:SG:S-P0T give 2:SG money
'If you direct me to the hospital, I'll give you money.'
An event which is not specified as to its place in time, i.e. any
habitual, customary or hypothetical event, is not marked by either of
the tense auxiliaries,
(2-13) Naitaim dei kamat. Dei falaram~bat yu biyain wen yu
night 3:PL come:out 3:PL follow-ITER 2:SG behind when 2:SG
wok -in jelp
wal k-PROG REFL
'At night (the ghosts) come out. They follow you when you
wal k a lone, '
30
2.2.2 MOOD
Some verbal auxiliaries convey mood only, but many include a time ori-
entation and are intrinsically negative or positive as well. Those which
can be combined with the past tense bin are labda, mashi , maitbi , nili,
wanda. AM but the last two can also combine with the potential garra.
The etymology of labda deserves mention here. It appears to have been
derived from Eng I i sh -I I have to as in I M I have to go now. The sep-
aration of the '11 from the subject pronoun and its reassignment to the
modal can be seen in example (2-14), where labda occurs initially and the
subject pronoun plus tense follows.
(2-14) Labda wi-1 stat masteram
must we-POT start muster
'We'll have to start mustering.'
(2-15) Wi bin labda kemp rait deya
we PST must camp right there
'We had to camp right there.'
(2-16) J masbi gai-ra kilim det sneik
3:SG:S might POT kill that snake
'He might ki I I i-he snake. '
(2-17) I maitbi gc^rra go la Debi
3:SG:S might P(3T go LOG Derby
'He might have to go to Derby (to visit a sick relative).'
(2-18) Yu wanda kam fo raid?
2:SG want come for ride
'Do you want to come for a ride?'
(2-19) Wan boi bin nili herdam det gel
IND:SG boy PST nearly hurt that girl
'A boy near I y hurt the girl . '
Others have time orientation lexicalised within the morpheme and can-
not be combined with either bin or garra. They are les, kin, kan, don,
masn. The last three are intrinsically negative.
(2-20) Les go
I et ' s go
'Let's go. '
31
(2-21) Ai kin isi duwum
1 :SG:S can easy do
' 1 can do i t . '
( 2-22) Mashi i kan kam
might 3:SG:S can't come
'Maybe he won't come,'
(2-23) Don idim det jcahijwan
don't eat that bad:thlng
'Don't eat that bad food.'
Contrafact shadbi has a past form shuda and a negative form shudn.
(2-24) Yu shudhi wajam~bat jelp
2:SG should wash-ITER REFL
'You should wash yourself.'
(2-25) Det wota shuda git hat nau
that water shou I d become hot now
'The water should have heated by now.'
The negative neba is the most general. It negates the proposition in
a non-future time orientation. If it negates a past event it is not
combined with bin unless the negative situation is viewed as complete.
Other negatives are nomo, nat and no. Nomo is used by mature adults
where younger people use neba. When asked about nomo negating the
verb, language teachers commented, 'Some old people say it that way, but
don't'. In the speech of those under 35 nomo is heard but it tends to
be restricted to phrase level where it implies an opposite,
(2-26) Dijan rein nomo lilbit, i bigwan
this rain NEG limited 3:SG:S big
'This rain is not a little, it's a lot.'
Nat negates a noun or adjective but not a verb.
(2-27) Dis dempa i nat kukwan
this damper 3:SG:S NEG cooked
'This damper is not cooked.'
No refers to quantity and means 'zero'. It nec;a"?"es a no^j-^.
32
(2-28) Wi garram no shuga
we ASSOC NEG sugar
'We have no sugar. '
2.2.3 ASPECT
Aspects are of three categories. hose which are verbal affixes are
described in 2.3; two are separate words which follow the verb and
nine are verbal auxiliaries and prcede the main verb.
Pinij 'completive aspect '. By usiig the completive aspect morpheme
pinij, the speaker indicates that -he action of the verb continued on
for a period, then ceased.
(2-29) I bin wok-in pinij. Tu lid bin gidin la im
3:SG:S PST walk-PROG comp late two lead PST enter LOC 3:SG:0
'He was walking, then wharr: two pieces of lead entered his
body (by magic) . '
If the verb is not durative, it means the event was final and complete.
(2-30) I bin drap pinij
3:SG:S PST collapse complete
'He collapsed and didn't get up again (for a long time).'
Naiinc^ 'in vain ' . When the result of an activity is predictable from
the verb itself or from context, mjing can be used to indicate that
it was carried out without the desired result (see also 7.1.4).
(2-31) Mipala bin tjak-in-abat najing. Neba bin gedam
1:PL:EX PST throw-PROG-lTER in:vain NEG PST get
'We cast our fishing line(5) for a long time without success;
we got nothing. '
The aspectual auxiliaries which precede the verb are kip ^ kipgoun,
stil, yet, which ail indicate continued action; jes 'limitation', stat
'incipient - action begun', stap 'cessation', trai ~ trayinda 'attempt
(2-32) Dei kipgoun bayam-bat taka
3:PL continue buy-ITER food
'They continued to buy food.'
(2-33) Ai stil garra go
1 :SG:S stil I POT go
'I sti I I intend to go. '
33
(2-34) Det krik neba ran-in yet
that creek NEG run-PROG yet
'The creek is not flowing yet.*
(2-35) Dei bin jes stat masteram hos
3:PL P5T just start muster horse
'They just started to muster the horses.'
(2-36) Dei garra stap masteram tudei
3: PL i^T stop muster now
'They will stop mustering now.'
(2-37) Wi bin trayinda go riba
we PST try go river
'We tried to go to the river (but the car broke down)
2.3 VERB MORPHOLOGY
The Kriot verb consists of a stem and three orders of suffixes, all
marking either transitivity or aspect. They are displayed in Figure
2.4. In the first order there are two morphemes -Vm transitive marker
and {-in} progressive aspect. Although it is possible to get a tran- I
sitive verb in the progressive aspect these two morphemes cannot co-occur ]
and the progressive aspect takes precedence when both meanings are needed.]
This allows for ambiguity in a very small number of verbs but in most i
cases it is clear from context or from the semantics of the verb stem, |
The second and third order suffixes are all aspectual,
2.3,1 TRANSITIVE MARKER \
Transitive verbs are normally marked by the first order suffix -Vy.
(2-38) Det dog bin bait-im mi \
that dog PST bite-TR 1:SG:0
'The dog b i t me. '
It can be omitted from tnose verbs which have an intrinsically tran-
sitive underived stem provided three conditions are met.
(1) The object must be overtly stated in an NP,
(2-39) Ai bin kuk sam dempa
1:SG:S PST cook some damper
'1 cooked some damper.'
34
FIGU=^E 2.4
VERBAL SUFFIXES
1st Order
Stem -i^ transitive
marker
-in progress i ve
aspect
2nd Order
-ap upwards,
forcefu I ,
extensive action
-at towards a goa i ,
cessation
-bek reversa I ,
reciproca I
-dan downwards,
termi nation
-in in, i ns i de
-(a)raun motion with
unspeci f ied
di recti on
-(a)wei motion away
from
-oba on top of an
entity
-of off, motion
down from an
elevated entity
3rd Order
'bat iterative
aspect
35
(2) All other verbal suffixes must be deleted also. Forms such as
*ld~ap 'eat' and *bait-bat 'bite' are not possible.
(3) The resultant stem must be an acceptable phonological shape. The
form *magar from magar~am 'spoil' is not acceptable because the phoneme
/r/ does not occur word finally. In text from speakers at the 'light'
end of the continuum there is a tendency to omit the transitive marker
more than in text from speakers at the 'heavy' end.
Morphophonemics , There is harmony between the last vowel of the verb
stem and that of the suffix -V/n. The vowels of the verb stem remain
unchanged and that of the suffix varies. If the stem final vowel is
/i/, /a/, or /u/ the suffix vowel is identical to it: kll-im 'hit,
kill', tjak~am 'throw', kuk-um 'cook, heat'. The two mid vowels /e/
and /o/ do not pull the suffix vowel to themselves but it falls toward
the low central position /a/ as in greb-am 'take possession of, kol~am
'call, refer to'. In the case of glides, the suffix is the same as
the second segment of the glide: faind~im 'find, notice', boil-im
'boil', kaund-um 'count'. These are illustrated below.
The above vowel changes are tendencies only. With many speakers the
vowel of the suffix, being unstressed, neutralises to an indistinct
central vowel /a/ for all but the high back vowels. For some, even /u/
is lowered and centralised.
T
For orthographic purposes in this monograph three allomorphs will be
written: -im, -am and -unij. the vowel to agree with that in the last syllable
of the stem. Where this is a glide, the suffix vowel agrees with the
second segment. With stem vowels /e/ and /o/ the suffix vowel wilt be
written /a/.
stll~im 'stea 1 '
tjak-am 'throw '
kuk-um 'cook'
36
enser-am ^answer'
brok-am 'break'
faind-im ' f i nd '
hoil~im 'bo i I '
kaund-um 'count'
Where the verb is derived from a phrasal verb in English, the transitive
marker is placed between the two English elements and the vowel agrees
with the preceding vowel as described above.
fil-ap > fil~lm-ap 'fill'
grow-ap > grow~um-ap ' g row , b r i ng up, n u rt u re '
Deri vat iona 1 Features , Almost all verbs are derived from English words
and as English verbs are not marked for transitivity they are treated as
intransitive when borrowed and a transitive form is derived where neces-
sary by the suffix -Vm. Many verbs have both an intransitive and a
transitive form. Some stems with intrinsic transitivity require ob-
ligatory transitive marking and there are no intransitive counterparts
for these. Others are intrinsically intransitive and have no transitive
counterpart. A transitive derivation is hypothet ica 1 1 y possible for
all, since the transitive marker is productive in the language and only
semantic imp lausi bi I i ty would prevent it. A selection of verb stems
are described below grouped according to their transitivity patterning.
Some verbs are intrinsically intransitive and cannot be trans itiv ised.
Examp 1 es are: go 'go, move ' , kamap 'arr i ve ' , kemp ' s I eep, camp ' , bogi
'bathe' , poldan ' fa i I ' , breikdan 'breakdown ' ,
(2-40) Mela bin kamap from Junjuwa
1:PL:EX PST arrive ABL (name)
'We arrived from Junjuwa.'
Verbs which are marked as transitive but have no intransitive counter-
part are those where the action is only ever performed by an agent on
another entity. Some are llk-im 'lick', nak-am 'hit', majurr-um
'muster, gather together', nidil-im 'inject'.
(2-41) Orla kid bin tjak-am ston
PL child PST throw-TR stone
'The children threw stones.'
37
The majority of verbs, have intransitive and transitive counterparts.
Some examples of these are given to illustrate the productivity of this
transitivising suffix.
ran ' run' ( intr)
(2-42) Orla kid bin ran raitap la riba
PL child PST run right LOC river
'The children ran right to the river.'
ran-am 'run into' (tr)
•I
(2-43) Det motika bin ran-am det dog
that car PST run-TR that dog
'The car ran over the dog.'
bagarrap 'spoi I ed, use I ess' ( i ntr)
(2-44) Det motika i bagarrap
that car 5:SG:S spoiled
'The car won 't go. '
bagarr~am~ap 'spoil, ruin, make useless' (tr)
(2-45) J bin bagarr-am-ap mai baik
3:SG:S PST spoi I ed-TR-up 1:SG:P bike
'He spoiled my bike (so I can't ride it).'
A small group of verbs describe an act or activity directed by one
entity (agent) toward another entity (goal). These can function either
transitively or intransitively. Although there is probably some dif-
ference of meaning between the two constructions, my language teacher
could not verbalise any. The goal of the action Is encoded ^n a
locative phrase with the intransitive verb (2-46) and as object with
the transitive verb (2-47).
(2-46) Pipul kin hambag langa yu fo mani
people can pester LOC 2:SG PURP money
'People can pester for money.'
(2-47) Dis box hambag~am-bat as
this boy pester-TR- ITER us
'The boy is annoy i ng/pester inq us.'
38
needle
nidil
nidil-im
torch
toltj
toitj-im
dust
dast
dast-am
jealous
jelis
jelis-im
high
-
bay-im~ap
ready
rudi
rudiy-im-ap
As well as deriving transitive verbs from intransitive, -Vm can be
used to derive a transitive verb from a different word class. 'his
applies to words from within Kriol or borrowed from English. Of those
listed below, the first three are derived from nouns and the other from
adjectives. The English form, as the source, is given in the yj^l
column followed by the Kriol form of the same word class. in the third
column the derived verb is given with its gloss.
' i nject '
'shine a I ight on something'
'cover with dust, overtake, surpass'
•resent, envy'
'heighten'
'prepare something'
2.3.2 FIRST AND THIRD ORDER SUFFIXES
The 1st order progressive aspect suffix {-in} and the 3rd order ^
iterative -bat cannot really be described independently. There is
overlap of meaning and therefore an interweaving of distribution and co-
occurrence. The shared meaning is that of continuous or durational _
aspect, i.e. an action is seen to be carried on for a prolonged period
of time. The different meanings are identified in the glosses given for
each morpheme.
Progressive {-in} . First order {-in} usually indicates continuous action,
but it can have a progressive or imperfective meaning when an action is
viewed as being in progress at a given time. This can be at the time of
the utterance or at the time identified by a verb in a contiguous clause.
Z?enj kids dei bisi pley-in la trempalin
them children 3: PL busy play-PROG LOC trampoline
'The children are active playing on the trampoline.'
There are two variants of {-in}: -in and -ing. These are not phono-
logical ly conditioned and there is no vowel harmony such as occurs with
the other first order suffix -Vm. For those intransitive verbs derived
from English phrasal verbs, progressive aspect suffix can be either be-
tween the two elements or at the end of the Kriol stem causing it to
alternate between 1st and 2hd orders.
jin-an-ing ^ jid-in-dan ' s i tt i ng '
jing-at-ing ^ jing-ln-at 'singing out, calling'
This differs from the transitive marker which is only ever in the 1st
Order position. Progressive forms are heard more often in the speech
of young peopi e.
The transitive marker -Vm and progressive aspect {-in} cannot co-occur,
e.g. with the transitive verb meaning 'chase', tjeis-im + in becomes
tjeis-in but not *tjeis~im-in or *tjeis~in-im , This means that verbs
which can have only transitive forms retain their transitivity with pro-
gressive aspect even though there is no affix to show it.
(2-48) Wi bin tjeis~im or la keinggurru
we PST chase-TR PL kangaroo
'We chased kangaroos.'
(2-49) Wi bin tjeis-in orla keinggurru
we PST chase-PROG PL kangaroo
'We were chasing kangaroos.'
1 terati ve -bat . The iterative meaning of -bat is more common than
durative. it can refer to repeated actions or plural participants as
in the following examples where the first illustrates repeated action,
and the second plural participants.
(2-50) Dis wotika i bagarrap-bat
this car 3:SG:S spoiled-ITER
'This car is erratic. It goes for a while and then stops.'
(2-51) Dei bin lait-im-ap-bat blanga dem jumok
3:PL PST I ight-TR-up-lTER DAT them cigarette
'They were all lighting up their cigarettes.'
The continuous meaning of -bat is exemplified in the next example.
(2-52) Det kid bin haid-im-ap-bat jelp from det titja
that child PST hi de-TR-up-t TER REEL ABL that teacher
'The child was hiding for a long time from the teacher (until it
was too late to qo to school).'
Both {-in} and -bat can be suffixed to the same verb. (The vcwp! '3/
optionally inserted between the alveolar and bilabial consonan-s .-/-ich
would form a cluster when the aMomorph -in precedes -bat as i ^: r-^ nex
examp 1 e . )
40
I s
(2-53) Mela bin tjak-ln-ahat: , najing
1:PL:EX PST throw-PROG-i TER in:vain
'We were casting (our fishing line(s)) repeatedly for a long
time without success.'
The overlap of meaning with these two aspect suffixes can perhaps best
be shown by some examples where two verbs with the same time reference
and duration occur in contiguous clauses.
(2-54) Wi bin siy-im-ba krakadail get-ap~bat
we PST see-TR-ITER crocodile get-up- ITER
t ' 'We were watching crocodiles getting in and out (of the water).'
( 2-55) Det motika shuda kam-in-ap dis-wei get-am-bat taka
that car should come-PROG-up this-DIR get-TR-lTER food
fo or la penjina
PURP PL pensioner
'The car should come every day and get food for the pensioners.'
2.3.5 SECOND ORDER SUFFIXES
Suffixes of the second order are all derived from English prepositions
and in Kriol some carry aspectual meaning. Most are productive though
some are heard mainly in verbs which originate from English phrasal
verbs (e.g. jidan 'sit' from 'sit down' and jandap 'stand' from 'stand
up). Second order suffixes are listed with the other verba! affixes in
Figure 2.4, They are all based on a spatial dimension and the first four
have been developed to include aspectual meaning as well.
-ap -' upwards ' . Probably derived from English 'up', the primary meaning
of -ap is that of an action performed in the vertical dimension, upwards.
It is glossed 'up' .
klaim~ap 'cl imb '
bildim-ap 'build (a house)*
jand-ap 'stand '
It extends spatially to include motion toward a physical goal.
draibim-ap 'drive right to a goal'
kam-ap 'move towards speaker'
41
The aspectual meaning is that of the action carried out to its fullest
extent. The next two examples have contrasting forms without the as-
pectual suffix. Both forms are given.
falaram-ap 'follow to catch up with, track game in
order to ki i I it'
falaram 'move along behind something which is
mov i ng '
rulum-ap 'roll up into something small, as a swag'
rulum 'roll along as a drum'
-at 'towards a goal ' , The aspectual meaning of -at is that the acticfn is
performed until a goal or a change of place or state is reached as \n the
verbs wetinim-at 'extinguish a fire' and kam-at 'reach a physical goal'.''
It is glossed 'attain' (att). The second is illustrated in the next
examp I e.
(2-56) Ai bin kat-am det log en ai bin kam-at la det
1:SG:S PST cut-TR that log and 1 :SG:S PST come-att LOG that
sneik
snake
'! chopped into the hollow log until 1 reached the snake.'
-bek ' reverse ' . The basic meaning of this morpheme is that an entity is
seen as being away from another entity or place and returning toward it.
It i s g lossed 'back' .
kam-bek 'return to speaker'
pajim-bek 'pass an item back to its original possessor'
The aspectual extension of meaning includes retaliation or reciprocation
and involves two entities. It assumes a previous action which has af-
fected one of them and has been performed by the other. The action is
then performed a second time with a reversal of roles, i.e. the agent
of the first action becomes patient of the second. Understandably, -bek
with aspectual meaning can only occur with transitive verbs.
shain-lm-bek 'shine a light back at someone In retaliation'
yus-um-bek 'use something belonging to someone else 'who
has borrowed an equivalent thing'
42
_^^^r^downwards\ The primary meaning of -dan is action performed in a
downward direction. It is glossed 'down'.
nakam-dan 'hit something causing it to fall'
go-dan 'go down'
It is extended to Include an event which causes the cessation of one
state, and, at the same time, change to a different state.
breik-dan 'break down (of vehicle or engine)'
sedil-dan 'cease from some activity'
There are very few examples In the data of the other second order suf-
fixes. No aspectual extension of their meaning has been discovered so
far. An example Is given of each,
git-in 'enter'
skaiting-aran-bat 'showing off
teikirr-awei 'take away, remove'
kabarr-oba 'cover over'
9et-of 'get off, al ight'
2.4 PRONOUNS
The distinctions of Inclusive/exclusive and dual number which are
features of TA languages are present also in Krioi though the English
Jorms we (wi) and us (as) are used with the same meaning as they are
"in English. They are shown as alternative forms on Figures 2.5 and 2.6.
There is contrast between subject and object pronouns in 1st and 3rd
persons as shown on the charts.
When pronouns follow a preposition, the object form is used except In
the case of 1st person dual and plural. If the four-way distinction is
not made, the subject pronoun wi often follows the preposition.
(2-57) Thar ran motlka bla wi
that car DAT we
'That is our car. '
43
FIGURE 2.5
SUBJECT PRONOUNS
Singular
Dual
Plural
inci
1
minyu ^ wi
(mela)
wilat ^ wi
(mela)
1
excl
ai a
mindupala
^ wi
(mela)
mela ^ mipala
- wi
2
yu
yundupala
yupala
3
1
dupala
dei ^ olabat
~ ol
FIGURE 2.6
OBJECT PRONOUNS
Si ngu 1 ar
Dual
Plural
incI
1
minyu
^ as
wilat
^ wi ^ as
excl
mi
mindupala
- as
mela ^ mipala
- as
2
yu
yundupala
yupala
3
im
dupala
dem ^ olabat
~ ol
mainwan
'my'
yuswan
'yours '
'his, hers.
its'
'theirs'
Several people whose work brings them into constant contact with children
told me in 1982 that children do not always make the four-way distinction
in 1st person but use the plural exclusive form wela for all. I have not
been able to verify this personally so have included it in Figure 2.5 in
brackets to identify it as a possible feature of language change. It
would not be surprising if other distinctions, especially duality, should
be lost in the future as there is continuing influence from English.
The possessive pronouns are:
main
yus
is
deya
2.5 TOPI CAUSATION AND TAGGING
Throughout this monograph, there are many examples where topical i safion
and tagging are significant and these introductory comments are in'tluded-
to explain the way the terms are used here,
Topica I i sation . In Kriol narrative text the constituent containing new
information is often given special focus by being moved to the beginning
of the clause. In elicited data (and in conversation) this same technique
of fronting is used to mark the constituent that is in focus. I will call
this process topical i sat ion following Grimes (1975:337-342). in a dis-
course, topical isat ion may mean that a new participantC s) is introduced
(2-61), that one (or a group) is selected for special reference from a-
mong participants previously identified (2-58) or a new piece of infor-
mation is introduced about an already established participant (2-62), In
one-clause utterances such as conversation or elicited data, the Topic
is the constituent in focus. As the subject is normally the first con-
stituent, topical isation is identified formally by the presence of the
subject pronoun following the fronted NP (noun phrase) and preceding the
predicate. This initial pre-subject position is here labelled Topic (TOP).
(2-58) TOP (S) S
Ani mi B,.., L..., K. . . en ngaju mipala bin abam
only 1:SG (name) (name) (name) and 1:SG(W) 1:PL:EX PST eat
kakaji fo dina
goanna(W) PURP dinner
'Only me, B..., L.,., K... and me, we had goanna for lunch.'
45
Compare this with a sentence wherfi there is no topical isation
(2-60) S
Mi, B... en J... bin idim det wotamelin
1:SG (name) and (name) PST eat that watermelon
'B..., J... and I ate the watermelon.'
Examples of arguments topical ised by fronting are subject (2-58), object
(2-61), (2-62), purposive (2-63), locative (2-64), associative (2-65) and
dative (2-66).
(2-61) TOP(O) S
Najawan gowena na dei bin digimap from hoi
another goanna EM 3:PL PST dig:up ABL hole
'Another goanna they dug up from its hole.'
(2-62) TOP(O) S
Gudsaiswan i bin raidim
good:size 3:SG:S PST ride
'A fair sized (calf) he rode.'
(2-63) TOP(PURP) S
Fo frog mela bin lukaran
PURP frog 1:PL:EX PST look:for
'For frogs we looked.'
(2-64) TOP(L) S
Said langa faya wi bin silip
side LOG fire we PST sleep
'At the side of the fire we slept.'
(2-65) TOP(A) S
Garra stik i bin kilim
ASSOC stick 3:SG:S PST kil I
'With a stick he ki I led it.' **'
(2-66) TOP(D) S
Bla or la kid i bin kukum taka
DAT PL child 3:SG:S PST cook food
'For the children she cooked food.'
46
Tagging . The final position (labelled 'AG) Is used to specify additional
information about the referent of one o' the arguments in the clause.
Sometimes tagging serves to highlight the phrase (2-68) and other times
it is merely a catch-all where information omitted earlier can be speci-
fied as a kind of afterthought (2-69).
(2-67) S TAG(S)
Orla kid bin redi bigmoh kid
PL child PST ready many child
'The children were ready, lots of children.'
(2-68) S TAG(S)
En dei bin densing orla purrku
and 3:PL PST dancing PL old:man(W)
'And they were dancing, the old men.'
(2-69) S TAG(S)
Aftatharran ting bin kam blekdoa
after:that HES PST come (name)
'After that came, the car with the black door.'®
It is possible to combine both top ica I i sation and tagging as in (2-70)
where the object is in Topic position and extra information about it is
given in the Tag. Sentence (2-71) topical ises the object and includes
a phrase in apposition, while the subject is further specified in the
Tag.
(2-70) TOP(O) S TAG(O)
Wan men dei bin falaram-bat, fo k... fo fatha
IND:SG man 3:PL PST follow-ITER PURP (name) PURP father
'One man they were following. It was K...'5 father.'
(2-71) TOP(O) S
en wan bigis bul luk, bigis stiya, i bin
and INDrSG veryrbig bull EM very:big steer 3:SG:S PST
TAG(S)
raidim Ink N. . .
ri de EM (name)
'And a very big bull, a very big steer he rode, N... did.'
47
Noun Phrases in Apposition , If Is not uncommon in Kriol tor phrases to
occur in apposition. The term is used here to refer to a repeated
phrase which further defines or identifies the referent, in contrast to
phrases within an UP which have a possessive or descriptive relationship
to a head noun (see Section 3.2). Phrases in apposition are not normally
separated by other elements of the clause as the adnominal phrase and
its head often are. Appositional phrases often coincide with the final
or Tag position because, apart from the subject, the argument involved
usually occurs last. To some extent these two functions of apposition
and tagging overlap as they both add information about an entity pre-
viously referred to. Examples below illustrate appositional phrases in
subject (2-72), object (2-73), locative (2-74), (2-75) and associative
(2-76) phrases (see also Text D-10), The appositional phrase is sepa-
rated off by a comma.
(2-72) TOP(S) S
En dis bigwan mangki , hlanga im dedi , i bin telim .*. .
and this big monkey DAT 3:SG:0 father 3:SG:S PST tell
'And this big monkey, his father, he said ...'
(2-73) I bin abam neim, orla neim, orla kid fo neim
3:SG:S PST have name PL name PL child PURP name
'(The car door) had a name on It, several names, children's
names . '
(2-74) Sneik kraling la yu, biyain la yu
snake crawling LOG 2:SG behind LOG 2:SG
'A snake is crawling on you, on your back.'
(2-75) En mela bin go la mash, la rud
and 1:PL:EX PST go LOG marsh LOG road
'And we went along the marsh, along the road.'
(2-76) Orla gel en boi bin nakam-bat jelp garra kura, garra
PL girl and boy PST hit-ITER REEL ASSOG dung(W) ASSOG
burluman kura
cattle dung(W)
'The girls and boys were hitting each other with dung, with
cattle dung . '
48
PART ONE
GRAMMATICAL ASPECTS
INTRODUCTION
Kriol follows its superstratum language English and identifies grammatical
subject and object by word order; in the basic clause subject precedes
the verb and object follows it. The syntactic relationship of other
arguments is Identified by prepositions in which it seems to also follow
the model of English. A closer look, however, reveals that prepositions
in Kriol belong to a closed class which identify the syntactic relation-
ship of arguments to the verb in much the same way as case inflections
function in other languages. Kriol prepositions are {blanga}, {langa} ,
fo, {garra} and from. These prepositions function in three ways: in
The arguments of verbal clauses, within the noun phrase and in the pre-
:-icate of verbless clauses. This is displayed in Figure 3.1 where X
fT^eans that the preposition occurs in that function.
Prepositions functioning in verbal clauses and within the noun phrase are
described in the next chapter and their function in verbless clauses is
included with the analysis of clause types in Chapter 4. A different
type of syntactic relationship is involved with the morpheme jelp described
in Chapter 5. Participants in the subject may be co-referential with the
object in a reflexive or reciprocal relationship or the participants in
*^e subject may be singled out as the only ones involved.
49
CHAPTER 3
PREPOSITIONS
3.1 PREPOSITIONS IN VERBAL CLAUSES
Case marking is a well documented feature of TA languages. Blake (1977)
has provided a description of the morphological means used to express
syntactic relations in languages from the whole continent while Dixon
(1980) provides a sketch of case markings and the systems in which they
function as well as a reconstruction of the case system of proto-
Austraiian. It is hardly surprising that the grammatical relations ex-
pressed by case inflections in TA languages are carried over into Kriol.
In the literature there are two basic differences in the use of the term
'case'. Traditionally it was used to refer to the contrasting forms of
lexemes (morphology) which changed according to the syntax of the lan-
guage. More recently it has been applied to categories defined semantical
(Fillmore). Nouns, pronouns and adjectives were classified by traditional
grammarians according to paradigms of declension for the inflectional
categories of case and number. Lyons says, 'Case was the most important
of the inflexional categories of the noun, as tense was the most important
inflexional category of the verb' (Lyons 1968:289). Though each ipase was
labelled according to one of its principal syntactic functions, it was
impossible to find a single label which covered all functions of the
case. Thus a traditional grammar would list a set of meanings for every
case, such as for Russian the instrument of place, the instrument of time,
the instrument of means etc. (See Wierzbicka 1980:xii).
Recent ! y those descr ib I ng non-1 ndo-European I anguages have found it
increasingly more important to recognise semantic categories as distinct
from the morphologically marked grammatical categories of case. Longacre,
50
-IG-JRE 5.1
PREPOSITIONS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS
Verbal Clause
Within NP
Verb less Clause
{blanga}
X
X
X
{garra}
X
X
X
fo
X
X
—
{langa}
X
X
—
frdm
X
X
—
speaking of studies in Philippine languages in the 1950's and 1960 s,
says they found 'that grammatical categories such as subject and object
must be distinguished from situational categories, such as actor, goal,
and site' ( Longacre 1976:23). But it was Fillmore who, in his well
known article of 1968 'The Case for Case', brought to the attention of
linguists world wide the notion of case as an underlying category. He
claimed that 'the grammatical notion 'case' deserves a place in the base
component of the grammar of every language'. Of English he said, 'Pre-
positions ... are selected on the basis of several types of structural
features and in ways that are exactly analogous to those which determine
particular case forms in a language like Latin' (1968:15). Chafe (1970)
was also working along similar lines and since that time 'case grammar^
has been developed by others; Piatt (1971), Cook (1979), Grimes (1975)
and Longacre (1976) to mention a few.
The semantic categories, or roles of case grammar provide a useful
framework for describing the various functions of the prepositions in
Kriol as they function in verbal clauses. 1 wi I 1 describe them in terms
of these semantic roles and syntactic relations but do not attempt a
full case grammar analysis of Kriol. It would be profitable in a future
study to analyse the verbs in terms of 'case frames' but that is beyond
the scope chosen for this monograph. For clarity I will reserve the •
term 'case^ for use where it refers to the traditional morphological
category, i.e. case-forms, and 'role' for the underlying semantic cate-
gories. 11 is necessary now to select an inventory of terms suitable
for describing these roles. Terms have been developed by the various
writers referred to above and Longacre in 1976 (p. 25) lists nine
different inventories which were in use by that time. It is Longacre's
own set which 1 have used for this analysis. I have found it difficult
at times to assign roles, especially when choosing between source and
goal, and while using Longacre's role labels, I have sometimes included
more traditional terms such as recipient or beneficiary for extra
clarity. The roles are listed below with definitions quoted from Long-
acre (1976:27-54). Two of them (measure and path) have not been used in
the ana lysis.
' EXPERIENCER . An animate entity whose registering nervoiis
system is relevant to the predication....
PAT 1 ENT . The inanimate entity of which a state or location is
predicated or which undergoes change of state or of location;
the animate entity which undergoes change of (physical) state or
of location ....
AGENT . The animate entity which instigates a process o- which
acts; an inanimate entity which acts (e.g. an astronomical oody
or the sem i autonomous machine). Agents either insti^a-^e a pro-
cess ... or perform an action...,
52
RANGE . The role assigned to any surface structure nominal that
completes or further specifies the predicate; the product of
the activity of a predicate....
MEASURE . The role assigned to the surface structure nominal
which completes a predication by quantifying it; the price in a
transfer. . . .
jNSTRUMENT . An inanimate entity or body part which an (animate)
agent intentionally uses to accomplish an action or to instigate
a process; any entity (unintentional with animate) which con-
ditions an (emotional) state or which triggers a change in
emotional or physical state....
LOCATI VE . The locale of a predication. This role is more
limited in distribution than source, path, and goal which re-
place it in many frames. The locale of a predication is the
place where the predication takes place without implying motion
to, from, or across the space indicated....
SOURCE , The locale which a predication assumes as place of
origin; the entity from which physical sensation emanates; the
animate entity who is the original owner in a transfer....
GOAL . The locale which is point of termination for a predication;
the entity towards which a predication is directed without any
necessary change of state in that entity; the animate entity who
is the non-transitory or terminal owner.,..
PATH ■ The locale or locales transversed in motion etc. pre-
dications; the transitory owner. ^
Since prepositions in Kriol have such a wide range of meaning it has not
been possible to select glosses which can, in a word or two, encompass
the whole. I have therefore chosen labels traditionally used for mor-
phologically defined case but which, I believe, best capture the function
of the prepositions. Details of the meaning in terms of semantic roles
3re given for each preposition in the description which fol lows.
^•^•^ SUBJECT AND OBJECT
The two^central syntactic relationships of Kriol, subject and object, ar
Identified by word order and not prepositions, but a description of the
^unction of prepositions would be inadequate without reference to these
;*^- They are described first. The phrase under discussion is under-
*'^^<3 »n examples in this chapter.
e
53
3.1 .1 .1 SUBJECT ,
The grammatical subject is identified by its position as the closest
nominal or pronominal element preceding the verb. This applies regardless
of transitivity, and the subject is obligatory in the clause. It has
no other identification. Subject can encode the roles of agent, patient,
experiencer and instrument. The role of agent can only be encoded in the
subject and it is not restricted to subject of transitive verbs as the
next two sentences illustrate.
(3-1 ) Or la kid bin tjak-am ston
PL child PST throw-TR stone
*The children threw stones,'
(3-2) 01 aba t bin go la riba
3: PL PST go LOG river
'They went to the river.'
The subject of some intransitive verbs are in a patient role where there
is no reference to an agent but the entity is that of which a state or
location is predicated.
(3-3) Wan dog bin stak la parrik
IND:SG dog PST stuck LOG fence
'A dog was caught in the fence.'
The entity may undergo a change of state or location.
(3-4) Pet kid bin foldan
that Chi N PST fa I I
'The Chi Id fell .'
(3-5) Pet kap bin dran la riba
that cup PST sink LOG river
'The cup sank in the river,'
With some attention and corporeal verbs the subject encodes the role
of experiencer,
(3-6) Main brat ha bin luk-um wan sneik
1:SG:P brother PST look-TR IND:SG snake
'My brother saw 3 snake.'
54
C5-7) BH
olmen bin lus la Debi
|ND:SG old:nnan PST die LOC Derby
'An old man died in Derby.'
Sonetines two roles can be co-referential, i.e. a single participant
r^y be involved in two roles as with the subject of the verb dran 'sink'.
]^ the subject refers to a human, that human is at the same time in the
role of a patient and experiencer.
(3-8) Wan kid bin dran la riba
^ IND:SG child PST sink LOC river
'A child sank in the river (got into difficulties while swimming).'
If an instrument (including body parts) is used by an agent to perform an
action, this relationship is encoded by the associative prepositional
phrase but an inanimate entity can occasionally be referred to in the sub-
ject where no entity is perceived as agent. The subject then encodes an
instrument role according to Longacre's definition because it triggers a
change in the emotional or physical state of the patient without itself
acting.
(3-9) Pet stlk bin pein-im mi
that stick PST pain-TR 1:SG:0
'The splinter is causing me pain.'
(3-10) Ston bin nak-am mi
stone PST hit-TR 1 :SG:0
'I stubbed my toe (Lit - a stone hit me).'
3.1.1.2 OBJECT
Like the subject, object is identified by its position. It follows a
transitive verb but can be separated from the verb by another argument
with some three-place verbs. An exception to this post-verb position
is to be found when the object is topical ised and therefore moved to the
Jeginning of the clause (see (2-61) and (2-62)), Object can encode most of
The case roles. Verbs of motion and affect which describe actions that
bring about a change of location or state typically have an object en-
coding the patient role.
3-11) Wan men bin bring~im-ap or la kid
INDrSG man PST bring-TR-up PL child
'A man brought the children.'
55
(3-12) Det men bin rul-um-ap is sweig
that man PST roli-TR-up 3:SG:P swag
'The man rolled up his swag.'
Where no change occurs, but the entity (animate) affected is conscious
of the action, the role of the object is experiencer.
(3-13) Det hoi bin hit~im wan gel
that boy PST hit-TR mD:SG girl
'The boy hit a girl.'
For others, goal is encoded as object where the action is directed toward
an entity.
(3-14) Det men bin weit-im is doda *
that man PST wait-TR 3:SG:P daughter
'The man waited for his daughter.'
(3-15) Ai garra kij-im-ap det stoa
1:SG:S POT catch-TR-up that store
'1 must hurry to catch the store (before it closes).'
Some atteni ion verbs have an object which encodes a source rote, where
the entity is that from which physical sensation emanates.
(3-16) Yu bin notis~im det men?
2: PL PST notice-TR that man
'Did you see that man?'
Some verbs have an object which semantically belongs together with the
verb as a natural extension of it. The entity here is in a range role.
(3-17) Orla kid bin plei hi geim
PL child PST play he game
'The children played the game called "He game".'
(3-18) Ai kan kil-am neim bla im
1:SG:S NEG ca 1 1 -TR name DAT 3:SG:P
'I can't say his name (taboo).'
With some speech verbs, the goal or addressee is encoded in the object.
They are telam 'tell', askam 'ask', enseraw 'answer', gralam 'rebuke,
growl at ' , juweirrim 'swear at ' , kwesjinim 'question, ask ' . Exa^p ! es
of some are qiven.
55
(3-19) ^^^ ^^^ ^^" tel-am ml "Wot blanga yu neim?"
that man PST tell-TR 1:SG:0 what DAT 2:SG name
'The man said to me, "What is your name?"*
(3-20) ^et hoi bin juweirr-im det manga
that boy PST swear-TR that girl(W)
'The boy swore at the girl.'
( 3-2 1 ) Det ti tja garra gral -am yu_
that teacher POT growl -TR 2:SG
'The teacher will growl at (rebuke) you.'
3,1.2 {blanga} 'DATIVE'
The preposition {blanga} has two other forms. The shortened one is bla
and the long one blanganda. There is no phonological or morphological
conditioning but blanga and bla are in free variation. The short form
is perhaps favoured by children, but the long three syllable form tends
to be an archaic one heard only in the speech of mature adults and is
a feature of Adult Pidgin.
With some verbs the goal of the action is encoded by the dative phrase
The^most obvious is when an action is performed on behalf of another
entity (the benef ic iary) ,
(3-22) Det wuwun bin kuk-um dempa bla orla kid
that woman PST cook-TR damper DAT PL chTl d
'The woman cooked damper for the children.'
(3-23) Kaman, Wi go lukaran bla det kakaji trek
come we go look DAT that goanna(W) track
'Come on! Let's look for a goanna track.'
Some action and rest verbs can encode goal with the dative.
(3-24) Orla kid bin daib bla det tin
PL child PST dive DAT that tin
'The children dived for the tin.'
(3-25) I i^ijj ^Qj^^ bla is mami
3:SG:S PST wait DAT 3:SG:P mother
'He waited for his mother.'
57
With some verbs the dative phrase appears to be co-referential of 90a I
and source, i.e. the same participant is at the same time the source and
the goal of the laughter.
(3-26) I bin krai blanga is ^^^^_
3:SG:S PST cry DAT 3:SG:P mother
'He cried for his mother (because his mother died).'
(3-27) Det wumun fil~im jelp paining blanga yapa
that woman feel-TR REFL paining DAT chiid(W)
'The woman feels the labour pains. (Lit - feels herself paining
in regard to the child,)'
(3-28) Mela bin laf-in blanga or la kid
1:PL:EX PST laugh-PROG DAT PL child
'We were laughing at/because of the children.'
With verbs of transfer the dative can encode the source of, cause or
reason for the transaction.
(3-29) Dei bin gibirr-im mani bla det dres
3: PL PST give-TR money DAT that dress
'They gave naoney for the dress.'
(3-30) I bin ow-um-bek det boi blanga is trasis
3:SG:S PST return-TR-back that boy DAT 3:SG:P trousers
'1 gave the boy a gift because of the trousers he gave me
before. '
With some mental attitude verbs, the dative encodes a source role.
( 3-31 ) Dei bin tis~im-bat det gel bla is bra tha
3:PL PST tease-TR-lTER that girl DAT 3;SG:P brother
'They were teasing the girl because of her brother.'
With others it encodes range,
(3-32) Dei bin lern-am im bla tjak~am orla bumareng
3: PL PST teach-TR 3:SG:0 DAT throw-TR PL boomerang
'They taught him to throw a boomerang.'
With some speech verbs the dative encodes goal or source. These role
labels are difficult to assign here. The action may be performed for
the benefit of the entity as in (3-33), because of it as shown in '3-34),
58
or the entity may be the purpose or reason for the action as in (3-35)
but it is never the addressee. In (5-35) the daughter is being sought
but others are being addressed in reference to her.
(3-33) I bin toktok bla is mami
3:SG:S PST talk DAT 3:SG:P mother
'She talked, defending her mother.'
(3-34) Det men bin agumen bla s^mting
that man PST dispute DAT something
'That man disputed about something.'
(3-35) X bin singat bla is doda
3:SG:S PST call DAT 3:SG:P daughter
'He called out for his daughter to come.'
Speech verbs which reject the dative are, sei 'say', kolam 'call',
yekyek ' chatter ' .
In a small group of examples the dative could be analysed as encoding an
experiencer or even a locative role. The referent in each is animate and
the analysis of experiencer is preferred, viewing the entity as the one
whose nervous system registers the effect of the event as in (3-36) or
the forces of nature.
(3-55) Ai bin nak-am wota blanga im
1:SG:S PST hit-TR water DAT 3:SG:0
'i (threw a stick and) hit the water near him.'
(3-37) J garra rein langa wi
3:SG:S POT rain LOG we
'It's likely to rain on us.'
(3-38) I bin rein-ing blanga wilat
3:SG:S PST ra i n-PROG DAT 1:PL:IN
'We got caught in the rain. (Lit - It rained for us.)'
The variation between {langa] and {blanga] in (5-57) and (3-38) could be
semantic but no difference of meaning is apparent at this stage. Such
sentences usually have a non-referring subject, i.
59
3.1 .3 {langa} 'LOCATIVE'
The preposition {langa} is often abbreviated to la and a longer form
langanda occurs in text from one speaker. As with {blanga} the two
shorter variants are in free variation with a tendency for the one-
syllabie form in the speech of children. The prepositional phrase with
{langa} mostly encodes the locative role where it denotes the place where
the predication takes place as illustrated in Examples (3-59) and (5-60).
This is not the whole function of {langa} for it is used for some very
important syntactic relations such as the traditional category of in-
direct object. Some verbs of transfer have a locative phrase identifying
the recipient or goal of the action. Either argument, goal (locative) or
patient (object), can take the position immediately following the verb.
(3-39) Wi bin gih-im langa olabat petlrl
we PST give-TR LOG 3: PL petrol
'We gave them petrol.'
(3-40) I bin ow~um~bek mani la det men
3:SG:S PST return-TR-back money LOG that man
'He gave the money back to the man.'
These transfer verbs can also be ditransitive when the goal is encoded
as an object, and then the goal obligatorily precedes the phrase encoding
patient. See also Example (3-30),
(3-41) wi bin gib-im olabat petlrl
we PST give-TR 3:PL petrol
'We gave them petrol.'
With some motion verbs the locative phrase can encode the goal of the
action as in the following example where the horse is directing its
bucking to the rider on its back.
(3-42) Det has bin bak la
im
that horse PST buck LOG 3:SG:0
'The horse bucked with/at him.'
(3-43) Les kripap la Sherin-mob
let's creep: up LOG (name)-GOL
'Let's creep up on Sharon and her friends.'
With some speech verbs the addressee or goal is encoded by the locative
phrase and they have no transitive marker in the ver^ . Those [n thp
data are singat 'call out, sing out', tok 'talk', agumen 'argue, dispute'
and sei 'say'. Examples of two are given.
60
(3-44) I bin singat langa is sista
3:SG:S PST call LOC 3:SG:P sister
'He called out to his sister.'
(3-45) Det men bin agumen langa det wumun , "Wijei ...?"
that man PST dispute LOC that woman where
'The man disputed with the woman, "Where ...?"'
(3-46) I bin toktok langa is ma tha en fa tha
3:SG:S PST talk LOC 3:SG:P mother and father
'He talked with his mother and father.'
Speech verbs can be categorised according to the correlation of role and
grammatical categories which occur with them (contrasting 'case frames'),
Verbs which encode the addressee as object are all transitive: telam
'tell', askam 'ask', enseram 'answer' and gralam 'rebuke, growl at' (see
3.1.1.2). With the two-place verbs bleimim ^accuse, blame' and jamanjam
'accuse, challenge', the addressee is encoded in the locative phrase and
the object encodes the accused (or exper iencer) .
(3-47) I bin bleim-im mi langa det sista bla gib-im-hat
3:SG:S PST accuse-TR 1 :SG:0 LOC that sister DAT give-TR-ITER
rongwan medijin
wrong med Ic i ne
'He accused me to the nursing sister saying I had given the
wrong medi cine. '
With most of these speech verbs, the dative phrase can occur where it
refers to the purpose or beneficiary of the utterance as in (3-33) to
(3-35). In 'light' Kriol the purpose (goal) of an utterance can be
identified by the preposition tu (from English 'to').
(3-48) I bin gral-am det wumun tu kuk-um det mit
3:SG:S PST growl-TR that woman to cook-TR that meat
'He rebuked the woman, telling her to cook the meat,'
Intransitive verbs of emotion or mental attitude may have an entity in
the role of goal encoded by the locative. With the intransitive verb
jelis 'resent, envy', the attitude is directed to the goal.
(3-49) N... bin jelis la O, . . tumaj is ngawiU bin
(name) PST resent LOC (name) because 3:SG:P grannie(W) PST
keriy-im im
carry-TR 3:SG:0
'N... resented D... because their grannie carried D '
61
(3-50) Ai bin figit la mai hoi
1:SG:S PST forget LOG 1:SG:P boy
M did not bring my boy-couldn't find him. (Lit - forgot my
boy) '
There is a ciear difference of meaning between locative and dative when
they occur with attention verbs and both refer to the entity towards
which the activity is directed. Locative as in (3-51) implies that the
action is successful, that hearing and understanding occurs, but dative
as in (3-52) implies that it has not yet been achieved (see also 7.1.4).
(3-51) Ai bin lijin la det men
1:SG:S PST listen LOG that man
M listened to (heard) the man (speaking).'
(3-52) Ai bin lijin bla det motika
1:SG:S PST listen DAT that car
M listened for the car (trying to hear it).'
Often there is semantic overlap and an entity can at the same time
function in two roles. For example when the locative phrase occurs
with the verb lukunat 'to watch or look at', the entity being watched is
usual ly the goal of the action but if it is animate, it may be aware of
being watched and so at the same time be in the role of experiencer. An
extra constituent can sometimes clarify the role. In (3-53) embarrass-
ment indicates that the participants are both goal and experiencer. The
use of binoculars implies distance so goal is probably the only role in
(3-54).
(3-53) Big sheim, dei bin lukunat langa wilat
big shame 3:PL PST look:at LOG 1:PL:IN
'We were embarrassed. They stared at us.'
J
(3-54) Wi bin lukunat langa detlat garra wan kampas
we PST lookrat LOG those ASSOG (NDrSG binoculars
'We looked at them through binoculars.'
Some of the intransitive verbs described above can be trans it ivi sed .
This results in the goal being encoded as grammatical object instead of
the locative phrase.
(3-55) Ai bin lijin-im det men
1:SG:S PST listen-TR that man
'I listened to (heard) the man.'
62
(3-56) Ai bin figit-im mai boi
1:SG:S PST f or get-TR 1:SG:P boy
M did not bring my boy-couldn't find him. (Lit - forgot my
boy J '
When the goal of an action involving motion is a place, {langa} is
optional I y deleted.
(3-57) Wi bin go la Debi ~ Wi bin go Debi
we PST go LOG Derby
'We went to Derby. '
With verbs such as winim 'win, beat' and plei 'play' the noun referring
to the game or sport is in the range role. Sometimes, as with winim,
this role is encoded by the locative phrase.
(3-58) Odri-mob bin win-im mela la baskitbol
(name)-COL PST win-TR 1:PL:EX LOG basketball
'Audrey's team beat us at basketball.'
The most frequent use of {langa} is to encode the role of locative which
simply identifies the place where the action occurred.
(3-59) Wi bin jidan la sheid
we PST sit LOG shade
'We sat in the shade.'
(3-60) Ai bin bay-im taka la stoa
1:SG:S PST buy-TR food LOG store
'I bought food at the store.'
It is also used to refer to a part of the whole as when specifying a
body part of the patient.
(3-61) Det men bin hit-im langa bed
that man PST hit-TR LOG head
'The man hit him on the head.'
Others similar to this are in reference to driving a motor vehicle
(see a I so Text G-19) ,
(3-62) Put-am la handrid l
put-TR LOG hundred
'Go at 100 kph! (Lit - put the speedometer needle at 100).'
63
In 'light' Kriol prepositions are borrowed from English. One such is
thru 'through'. It occurs occasionally in the data but mainly in
reference to events where people traverse places where there is an ob-
stacle such as flooded roadways, soft sand or boggy patches. Thus this
preposition is found with the verb of accomplishment meikit 'make it',
rather than motion verbs.
(3-63) Wi bin meikit thru da big riba
we PST make: it through the big river
'We got through the river without mishap.'
The same role is also encoded with the locative phrase.
(3-64) Wi bin meikit la det sof sen
we PST make: it LOG that soft sand
'We managed to drive through the soft sand (without getting
bogged) . '
3.1 .4 FO 'PURPOSIVE'
There is a lot of similarity between the dative and purposive prepositional
phrases, in that either can be used to encode goal or source roles. in
all examples where dative encodes goal in Section 3.1,2, fo can be al-
ternated with {blanga} except with the verb laf 'laugh'.
*Mela bin laf in fo orla kid is unacceptable. Compare (3-65) with (3-22).
(3-65) Det wumun bin kuk-um dempa fo orla kid
that woman PST cook-TR damper PURP PL child
'The woman cooked damper for the children,'
In situations where either fo or {blanga} can be used {blanga} is the
'heavier' form. Some verbs which can have either typically prefer the
purposive as in (3-66) and (3-67).
(3-66) Wi bin betlin fo det motika -''
we PST try PURP that car
'We tried hard to get the car but couldn't.'
(3-67) Det drangkinwan bin hambag-am as fo taka
that drunk PST pester-TR us PURP food
'That drunk man pestered us for food.'
64
Fo cannot occur where {blanga} encodes range or locative roles and the
next two sentences are not acceptable. Compare them with (3-32) and
(3-38).
*Dei bin lernam im fo tjakam orla bumareng
*X bin rein fo wi
Temporal reference Is not included in the list of semantic roles
supplied by Longacre but the use of fo with the temporal is worth
mentioning here for this is one of the few situations where fo, but
not {blanga}, can occur.
(3-68) Wi bin stap Debi fo longtaim
we PST stay Derby PURP long:time
'We stayed in Derby for a long time,'
The deletion of the preposition gives a change of meaning (see also
Text A-4 and E-1 ) .
(3-69) Wi bin stap Debi longtaim
we PST stay Derby long: time
'We stayed in Derby a long time ago.'
3.1.5 FROM 'ABLATIVE'
The preposition from has a basic ablative meaning encoding a source
role and is used with motion verbs to refer to the place of origin or
source of the predication.
(3-70) Mela bin ham from Junjuwa
1:PL:EX PST come ABL (name)
'We came from Junjuwa.'
A restricted number of other verbs (e.g. attention verbs) can encode the
place of origin of the activity with from,
(3-71) Dei bin lukunat as from kemp
3:PL PST look:at us ABL camp
'They looked at us from camp,'
With transfer verbs the original location of the entity which is
transferred is encoded by the ablative phrase.
65
(3-72) Orla boi bin rab~am-bat ma.nl from det bans bla detlat
PL boy PST steal -TR-ITER money ABL that house DAT those
gardi ya
European
'The boys stole the Europeans' money from the house.'
(3-73) I bin bay~im orla taka from stoa
3:SG:S PST buy-TR PL food ABL store
'He bought food from the store.'
The source of a sensation can be encoded by the ablative.
(3-74) Dei bin stab-am-bat orla kid from taka
3:PL PST starve-TR-ITER PL child ABL food
'They denied the children a meal (as punishment).'
3.1.6 {garra} 'ASSOCIATIVE'
The preposition {garra} carries many meanings and functions in all three
syntactic environments. When its function is one of identifying the re-
lation of an argument to the verb, it encodes one of two semantic roles,
instrument or locative. Instrument role requires an agent in the subject
(see Text A-19, D-4) .
(3-75) Det boi bin nak~am garra ston
that boy PST hit-TR ASSOC stone
'The boy hit her with a stone.'
(3-76) Wi bin lukaran garra motika ebriwe fo orla keinggurru
we PST look: for ASSOC car everywhere PURP PL kangaroo
'We went in the car, searching everywhere for kangaroos.'
(3-77) Wi bin fil-im-ap garra bill ken det wota
we PST fill-TR-up ASSOC billy that water i
'We f i M ed the billy w i th water . '
Provided there is an agent, verbs of most semantic types can have an
associative phrase encoding instrument role as it is defined by Longacre.
Exceptions to this are the verbs of emotion labam 'love', jells 'resent',
warlyln 'worry'; or mental attitudes rekin 'reckon', bilibim 'believe,
obey', nowum 'know, understand', lern 'learn'. These cannot have an
i nstrument .
66
The locative role is even more restricted as it refers, not to a place,
but only to an animate entity, This entity is not involved in accom-
plishing the action but is simply the location where the action occurs.
Terms often used to describe this are accompaniment and comitative (see
also Text E-9) •
(3-78) Mela bin laf-in garra detlat gel
1:PL:EX PST laugh -PROG ASSOC those girl
'We were laughing with those girls.'
(3-79) Det wumun bin krai garra mai sista
that woman PST cry ASSOC 1 :SG:P sister
'The woman cried with my sister (traditional mourning activity).'
(3-80) Ai bin jidan garra or la kid
1:SG:S PST sit ASSOC PL child
'I sat with the children.'
There are three forms of the preposition. They are garra, garram and
gat. The first two are in free variation in all examples given above,
though garra seems to be preferred. Garram, which is the form used in the
Ngukurr/Bamyi I i dialects, is typical of the speech of those at the 'heavy'
end of the continuum. It is analysed as garra + im (preposition + 3rd
singular object pronoun) because it is the only form that can be used
sentence finally when the noun is deleted. In the next two examples the
first is a verbless clause and the second an intransitive clause.
(3-81) Benjin garra-w
Benson ASS0C-3:SG:0
'Benson has it. '
(3-82) Okei . Yu plei garra-m
okay 2:SG play ASS0C-3:SG:0
'Okay. You play with it.' (With your guitar—referred to in
the previous sentence.)
The other two forms cannot be used finally. *Okei i;u plei garra and
*Okei, yu plei gat are unacceptable. The short form gat is heard more
at the 'light' end of the continuum and is rarely used in the verbal
clause function. One example of gat in locative role is given in (3-83).
( 3-83 ) Ya kam gat mi
2:SG come ASSOC 1 :SG:0
'You come with me.'
3.1.7 COMPARISON WITH TRADITIONAL AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGES
Kriol has many features which resemble the superstratum language English,
and others which can suggest resemblance to TA languages. The use of
order (to mark subject and object) and prepositions instead of a mor-
phological ly marked case system are English-like features. The number
of prepositions in Kriol differ considerably from that in English. Quirk
and Greenbaum list 62 simple prepositions in their grammar of contemporary^
English (1972:301). Compare this to Kriol 's five. The function of many
English prepositions is performed in Kriol by lexemes derived from these
English prepositions but functioning in Kriol as locational words. They
combine with the locative phrase to add specific orientation which the
preposition cannot do (see Text D-10),
(3-84) Wi bin go kros langa wot a
we PST go across LOC water
'We went through the stream, *
(3-85) J bin foldan saidwei la rail
3:SG:S PST fal ! side LOC ra i I
'He fel I at the side on the rai I .
(3-86) Wan das kaminap biyain la yu
iND:SG dust coming behind LOC 2:SG
'There's a cloud of dust (car) coming behind you.'
On this subject Blake says of case in TA languages, 'Leaving aside dialect
variants or stylistic variants, it is normal to find that separate case
forms represent distinct case relations. However, in a language like
English there are a number of prepositions such as i n , on , under , near ,
etc. which all express location (they answer where questions) plus some
specific orientation of one entity in relation to another. In most
Australian languages we find a case suffix marking location, with ad-
verbs being used to express orientation. In the latter instance it Is
possible to say that there is a locative case form expressing a LOCATIVE
case relation. In English I would describe J_n_, on, under , near , etc. as
prepositions representing the same case relation, VIZ. LOCATIVE, but
representing a further semantic specification as well. Thus JJI Is a case
form but not a case form expressing case only' (Blake 1977:1). The
Kriol prepositions, in contrast to those of English, express case re-
lations only and so are more like the cases of TA languages In their
f unct Ion .
Subject . The instrument role of the subject in some sentences in Kriol
reflects the Aboriginal culture where accountability is viewed somewhat
differently from English. This can sometimes be seen In the syntax of
68
TA languages. In situations where a person is hurt inadvertently, as
when one stubs their toe or bumps their head, Walmajarri does not use a
reflexive construction. The inanimate entity is treated as an agent
and expressed in the ergative case.
(3-87W) Jina pa-ja lani mana~ngu
foot AUX-1:SG:0 pierced stick-ERG
'I stubbed my toe on a stick. (Lit - a stick poked my foot.)'
Kriol has taken this concept into its grammar by assigning the inanimate
eritity to the subject of a transitive verb as in (3-87K).
(3-87K) Stik bin pokam ml
M stubbed my toe on a stick. (Lit - a stick poked me.)'
According to Longacre's definition, the entity 'which triggers a change
in emotional or physical state' can be treated as an instrument role and
I have analysed it as such in 3.1.1.1.
Associative . The two roles of Associative {garra} have parallels in
Walmajarri. The instrument role is expressed throught the morpheme
-jarti, which is described in detail in 4.1,8, The locative role is
expressed through the accessory case where the NP is marked by the
morpheme {-rial and is cross-referenced in the auxiliary. Compare the
next two pairs of examples. Those in Kriol are taken from 3.1.6.
(3-88W) Kir rami ma-rna-nyanangurla yapa-warnti-rla
sat AUX-1:SG:S-3:PL:ACC child-PL-ACC
( 3-88K) Ai bin jidan garra orla kid
M sat with the children,'
(3-89V^) Marnin-tu nyanarti-rlu ma~0~nyanta lungani ngajukura-rla
woman-ERG that-ERG AUX-3:SG:S-3:SG:ACC cried my-ACC
(3-89K) Det wumnn bin krai garra mai sista
'The woman cried with my sister (traditional mourning activity).'
Locative . Some of the roles of Kriol {langa) are encoded by the
Walmajarri accessory and locative cases. (Kriol examples are from 3.1.3.)
(3-90W) Rukarni ma-rna~nyanta parri-nga ngajukura-rla
forgot AUX- 1 : SG : S-3 : SG : ACQ boy-ACC my-ACC
'I did not bring my boy— couldn't find him.'
A feature of the accessory case is that the accessory NP is cross-
referenced for person and number in the auxiliary (by the suffix -nyanta
69
in these examples) bijf the locative case is not. In this the two cases
contrast although they are both marked on the NP by {-rla} , (3-91)
illustrates Walmajarri accessory case and Kriol {langa} encoding goal.
(3-92) illustrates Walmajarri locative case with a Kriol translation
of it,
(3-91W) Nganpayi-rlu ma-0-nyanta jangkujangkumani marnin-ta
man-ERG AUX-3:SG:S-3 :SG:ACC disputed woman-ACC
(3-9 IK) Det men bin agumen langa det wumun
'The man disputed with the woman.'
( 3-92W) Karrinyani ma~rna martuwarra-rla
stood AUX-1:SG:S river-LOC
(3-92K) Al bin jandap la riba
1:SG:S PST stand LOG river
M stood at the river (either in the water or on the bank),'
3.2 PREPOSITIONS WITHIN THE NOUN PHRASE
As well as the syntactic function of prepositions where they relate the
NP to the verb, there is an adnominal function for three of the five
prepositions. The referent of an NP can be described by an adjective or
by one of these three prepositional phrases which is functioning as a
modifier of the noun (adnominal). A possessive relationship can be
described by either the dative or purposive prepositional phrase, and
the associative phrase carries a descriptive meaning. All can be separ-
ated by other constituents from the noun they modify. For dative and
purposive the position of the preposition to the noun is variable as it
can either precede or fol low the noun. ( In syntactic function the pre-
position always precedes the noun.) The adnominal prepositional phrase
itself is also mobile as it can either precede or follow the noun which
it modifies. These various positions will be illustrated below for each
preposition. In examples throughout this section the prepositional phrase
as we I I as the noun it modi f ies is under I i ned .
3.2.1 {blanga} 'DATIVE'
The possessor is the referent of the prepositional phrase and the entity
possessed is the head of the NP. In (3-93) the prepositional phrase
(possessor) follows the noun (possessed) and in (3-94) the opposite is
true.
70
, ^-\ Ai hin f^ind-im det kap bla det wumun
' ^"""' i-SGrS PST find-TR that cup DAT that woman
,5-94)
M found the woman's cup,'
J bin bak bla im hos
3:SG:S PST buck DAT 3:SG:0 horse
'His horse bucked (without a rider).'
The next one illustrates the dative phrase embedded within a phrase in
a; position to the subject noun phrase.
(3-95) ^^ ^^^ blgwan mangkl blanga Im dedl , 1 bin
and this big monkey DAT 3:SG:0 father 3:SG:S PST
tel-'lm, . . .
tel I-TR
'And this big monkey, his father, told him ...'
The prepositional phrase is often in the Tag position and separated
from the noun it modifies providing extra Information about the noun.
(3-96) S TAG(S)
Det lllkld parralals~im as blanga det wumu n
that small rchijd paralyse-TR us DAT that woman
'The foetus In that pregnant woman Is preventing us from
winning at cards (bringing bad luck).'
(3-97) S TAG(O)
1 bin flglt-lm det kl langa rlba blanga Is
3:SG:S PST forget-TR that key LOG river DAT 3:SG:P
motika
car
'He left the car key at the river.'
Although in most examples {blanga} precedes the noun, it can be post-
posed (see also Text D-1 ) .
^^"^^^ D^t snelk bla ai del kol-am rill dlpi^an
that snake DAT eye they ca I I-TR real ly deep
'The mythical snake's eye is what they call the really deep
waterhol e. '
71
(3-99) I bin fll-im det manga blanga jinkari
3:SG:S PST feel-TR that girl(W) DAT leg(W)
'He touched the girl's I eg J
3.2.2. FO 'PURPOSIVE'
The same features as have been described for {blanga} apply also for
fo. The prepositional phrase is illustrated preceding the noun it modi-
fies in (3-101) and following it in (3-100).
(3-100) Det dog fo im bin go longwei
that dog PURP 3:SG:0 PST go longrway
'His dog went a long way.'
(3-101) Fo Jukuna kid iya
PURP (name) ch i I d here
'This is Jukuna's son, (speaking on telephone)'
In the next example {blanga} and fo apparently are in free variation as
the one can substitute for the other. Compare (3-102) with (3-100).
(3-102) Det dog bla im bin go longwei
that dog DAT 3:SG:0 PST go long:way
'His dog went a long way.'
There are some features of fo which are not shared by {blanga}. The
preposition can, and often does, follow the noun referring to the
possessor as in (3-103) and (3-104) and at times it both precedes and
follows it as in (3-105). The head noun has been deleted in (3-106).
(3-103) Trisa fo dedi bin kam
(name) PURP father PST come
'Teresa's father came.' j
(3-104) Wi bin luk-um Silina fo meit
we PST look-TR (name) PURP friend
'We saw Selina's friend.'
(3-105) J... bin stil~im fo M . . . fo greip
(name) PST steal-TR PURP (name) PURP grape
'J . . . stole M. , . 's grapes. '
72
(3-106) Ai bin nili drap^am fo t/u
1:SG:S PST nearly drop-TR PURP 2:SG
M nearly dropped your (cup)^'
Potential ambiguity with the pre and post positioning of fo is pre-
vented by a hierarchy indicating the possessor. Proper names are most
likely to refer to the possessor, followed by human, animate and inani-
mate referents so that both Trisa fo dedi and Dedi fo Trisa refer to
Tresa's father. A knowledge of the real world is necessary to interpret
the possessive relationship where two inanimate entities are involved
as in the next example.
(3-107) Des da s hedau fo det lif , i muving
that EQ shadow PURP that leaf 3:SG:S moving
Mt's the shadow of that leaf (which is) moving.'
In spite of greater flexibility of order for the preposition fo, the
purposive phrase is not so mobile as the others and in all examples the
adnominal phrase remains contiguous to the noun it modifies.
The two functions of fo can be seen in the next example where the first
occurrence identifies the syntactic relationship of phrase to verb and
the second is the possessive use functioning within the phrase. Brackets
are used in this example to help identify the constituents.
(3-108) Mela bin luk
1 :PL:EX PST look
7... fo I naif
(name) PURpJ knif£
'We looked for Yamera's knife.'
fo
PURP
3.2.3 {garra} 'ASSOCIATIVE'
When the associative prepositional phrase modifies a noun, {garra}
functions semantically very much like the derivational affix of TA
languages. This affix is glossed as 'having' or 'comitative' by Dixon
(1976:203 and 1980:324) and others, and derives adjectives from nouns.
The phrase follows the noun which it modifies but since it normally
follows the verb also, it doesn't occur contiguous to the head noun of
the subject (which precedes the verb). It cannot modify the noun within
another prepositional phrase as dative and purposive can do as in (3-108)
(3-109) Dei bin teik det men garra plendi blad la hospil
3:PL PST take that man ASSOC lot blood LOC hospital
'They took the man who was bleeding to hospital.
(3-110) Pet big lodingr bin kam garra or la staf
that big truck ' PST come ASSOC PL stuff
'The big transport truck came with the load.'
It can occur without a head noun,
(3-111) Wi bin siy-im garra orla kid
we PST see-TR ASSOC PL child
'We saw her with her children,'
When the adnominal associative phrase is topical ised it does not follow
the predicate as in the next example (which is context dependent).
(3-1 12) Garra aiglaj tbarrei
ASSOC spectacles there
'The one wearing glasses is over there.'
Semantically, the adnominal associative phrase either describes a noun
as in (3-109), or refers to an entity in close association with the
referent. This latter as illustrated in (3-113) is the more common use.
(3-113) En ai_ bin kambek garra det dapala fish la dinakemp
and 1:SG:S PST return ASSOC that 3:DU fish LOC picnic:spot
'And I came back with two fish to the picnic spot.'
The entity is normally something physically smaller, often inanimate,
and potentially under the control of the head noun referent.
(3-114) Ai_ bin gedof garra sweig
1:SG:S PST descend ASSOC swag
'I got off (the vehicle) with my swag.'
In this, it contrasts with the locative role of the associative phrase
in verbal clauses because there the entity Is large, animate and refers
to the location where the action takes place (3.1.6).
The two functions of the associative phrase, in verbal clauses and i/ithin
the noun phrase, can be separated according to the following criteria:
(1) If the associative phrase is functioning syntactically It carries
Information relevant to the predicate whereas the adnominal function has
no link to the predicate but serves only to describe the noun.
(2) Formally, the adnominal associative phrase can be Identified be-
cause It can be negated but this cannot be done If Its function Is
syntactic ,
74
The instrument role provides an illustration of these two functions.
The associative phrase often encodes an instrument role in the verbal
clause but in the next example the agent is not using the spear to per-
form the action so It is analysed as adnominal modifying the subject pro-
noun rather than syntactic function,
(3-115) J bin daibin garra spiya
3:SG:S PST dive ASSOC spear
'He dived in carrying a spear.'
The second reason for this analysis is that the associative phrase here
can be negated- The combination of garra -/■ no means 'without'.
(3-115) X bin daibin garra no spiya
3:SG:S PST dive ASSOC NEG spear
'He dived in without any spear
I
The associative phrase in an instrument role cannot be so negated.
The sentence *Det boi bin nakam garra no ston is incorrect for the
negative neba would be used here preceding the verb (see section 2.2).
Adverb i a I Funct i on . In a small number of examples in the data there i-s
an abstract noun in the associative phrase. These are not analysed as
adnominal function because they cannot be negated. However they do
not fit the semantic roles well either. In (3-117) fear is not the
source or the instrument but rather it describes the type of action.
tt is therefore treated as separate and analysed as having an adverbial
function.
(3-117) Det parri bin lukunat ebriwe garra frait
that boy(W) PST look everywhere ASSOC fright
'The frightened boy was watching all around.'
(3-118) J bin luk garra kwesjinmak
3:SG:S PST look ASSOC quest ion :mark
'He was amazed (and it showed on his face).'
3.2.4 THE LEXEME LAIKA
One other lexeme which must be mentioned among the prepositions is laika
'like'. The examples in the data are too few to attempt an analysis. In
one of them it seems that laika is a preposition introducing an NP (which
has no head noun). See Text A-3, 29 for other examples.
75
(3-119) Laika ti i stap-in
like tea 3:SG:S ^tay-PROG
Mt is like tea. coescribing a process of making imitation
tea . ) '
An adverb layet ^ laigajet Mn this manner' occurs frequently with the
verb go.
(3-120) En i garra go layet, en i garra idim
and 3:SG:5 POT go i n :th is :manner and 3:SG:S POT eat
'And it will go like that (pick up ants with tongue) and it
will eat them. '
3.2.5 COMPARISON WITH TRADITIONAL AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGES
The possessive relationship of {blanga} and fo is paralleled in Walmajarri
by the dative case, and the descriptive meaning of {garra} has a parallel
in a derivational affix -jarti. This latter is best treated later after
all three functions of {garra} have been introduced, so see 4.1.8 for
comparison of these two morphemes.
A possessive relationship can be shown in Walmajarri by the dative case
in syntactic function as in (3-121W). Compare this with Kriol where the
dative phrase functions within the noun phrase as shown in (3-121K).
(3-121W) Manga pa-ji kanya ngaju-wu
girl AUX-1:SG:DAT carried 1:SG-DAT
(3-121K) I bin keriyim gel bla ml
'He carried my girl.'
WORK PAPERS OF SIL AAB
Series A Volume 8
GRAMMATICAL
AND SEMANTIC ASPECTS
OF FITZROY VALLEY KRIOL
by Joyce Hudson
SUMMER INSTITUTE OF LINGUISTICS
AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES BRANCH
DARWIN
AUGUST 1983
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American Libraries
TV News
Understanding 9/11